“We created Mudra Yojana to promote entrepreneurship and turn job-seekers into job-creators,” Modi said. “Around seven crore people have taken advantage of it and 70 per cent of them are women.”

Stating that Parliament took a decision to extend maternity leave of working women to 26 weeks, he said: “It is an investment meant for the benefit of our future generations.”

He said that when then US President Barack Obama came to attend the 2015 Republic Day parade in New Delhi as the chief guest, each of the three services giving the guard of honour was commanded by a woman.

He said that women were starting to play a major role in India’s security and mentioned that Indian women were now flying fighter aircraft.

Referring to the launch of 104 satellites in one go, firing of the world’s heaviest launch vehicle and GSLV MkIII-D1 earlier this month and the simultaneous launch of 30 nano-satellites last week, the Prime Minister said that three of the most prominent scientists working behind these projects were women.

He said that more and more women were handling the education and health sectors in India and added that Olympic medals were being won by the country’s daughters.

“It is not just working for the development of India but working for a modern India,” Modi underlined.

In this regard, he said that India was targeting 175 GW of renewable energy to meet its energy needs.

“Solar energy, wind energy, biomass energy — it is these that will meet our energy needs,” he stated.

Modi also said that the target of providing electricity to 18,000 villages within 1,000 days was set to be met soon.

“Under the Digital India mission, we are laying optical fibre network, so that those living in our villages can use mobile phones.”

Modi urged the Indian diaspora across the world to maintain their connections with their motherland.

The Netherlands is home to around 220,000 people of Indian origin, many of whom are Surinami Hindustanis, descendants of Indians taken there in the 18th century to work as indentured labourers in sugarcane plantations in Suriname.

He appreciated the Surinami Hindustanis for maintaining their Indian culture and traditions even after 150 years of their ancestors leaving the shores of India.

“However heavy or big an iron ball is, it will roll away if one or two people will give it a strong push. But a tree with strong roots cannot be moved,” said the Prime Minister. (IANS)

Important for women to become financially independent: Twinkle Khanna. Flickr

Actress-turned-author Twinkle Khanna, who has been vocal about several social issues especially those related to gender equality, believes that the best way for a woman to empower herself is through financial independence.

“We often tell women to speak up for themselves and to be fearless, but the fact is if you are not financially independent, then you have to toe the line and have to raise hand for the cheque,” she said.

“Economic indepence is the primary thing for all women out there. They should not rely on someone else for their needs, all should become self-reliant,” Twinkle Khanna said during the launch of her third book titled ‘Pyjamas are Forgiving’ on Wednesday.

Organised by YFLO Delhi, the event was moderated by renowned journalist Barkha Dutt.

Twinkle Khanna, Wikimedia Commons

Asked the reason for holding a political ideology different from her husband and actor Akshay Kumar’s opinions, Twinkle responded by saying: “We all have a right to vote which implies we all have a right to have different opinions,” she said.

At the same time, the “Mela” actress expressed her concern over people’s ruthless attitude towards someone who has a different opinion in the society.

She said: “Be it colour, cast, nationality or opinion, we all are shunning people who are different from us. And through this we end up learning nothing. We all are living in an eco-chamber.

“It is good to have different opinions as it will help people to learn more about things in a different manner.”

Twinkle Khanna, who talked about botox quite a number of times, has once again urged women not to give unecessary heed to cosmetic treatments in order to look younger.

Twinkle Khanna. Flickr

The 43-year-old mother of two children said: “Ageing is a strange thing. When women cross 40, they start panicking about their looks and start getting cosmetic treatments.

“Rather bothering about looks, women should invest in their skills and try to develop a mind. If you have skills, automatically all heads will turn for you no matter what the looks are. ”